French Open: Naomi Osaka, Carlos Alcaraz bring curtain up on year’s second grand slam, Chinese players in action early
- Osaka is first up on the showpiece Court Philippe Chatrier against Italy’s Lucia Bronzetti
- China’s No 1 Zhang Zhizhen takes on Australia’s Aleksandar Vukic in first round of men’s singles
.png?itok=arIb17P0)
Naomi Osaka and Carlos Alcaraz bring the curtain up on the French Open on Sunday as Roland Garros prepares to bid an expected farewell to Rafael Nadal.
Osaka, a four-time major winner who has yet to get past the third round in Paris, is first up on the showpiece Court Philippe Chatrier against Italy’s Lucia Bronzetti.
Alcaraz, the reigning Wimbledon champion, then begins his campaign against JJ Wolf of the United States, a lucky loser from qualifying.
Andy Murray and his fellow three-time grand slam champion Stan Wawrinka will close proceedings in the night session.
A number of Chinese players are in action early in Paris, with Zhang Zhizhen, the country’s top men’s player, taking on Australia’s Aleksandar Vukic in the first match on Court 9.
In the women’s singles Wang Yafan gets her tournament under way against Maria Timofeeva, while compatriots Wang Xiyu and Zhouxuan Bai face each other, and Wang Xinyu takes on Germany’s Jule Niemeier.
Japanese star Osaka, a former world No 1, has endured a bittersweet relationship with the French capital.
In 2021, she was fined for opting out of mandatory media commitments before withdrawing from the tournament to protect her mental health.
A year later, she fell in the first round before leaving the sport in September 2022 for 16 months to start a family.
“I’m learning a lot of lessons through motherhood, and I hope that I can remember to apply them on the tennis court,” the 26-year-old said.
Should she get past 48th-ranked Bronzetti, a clash with top seed and defending champion Iga Świątek should follow.
Now up to 134 in the world after being outside the top 800 in January, Osaka is gradually learning to appreciate the demands of clay where it is harder to simply hit her opponents off the court.
“Just observing other players more, watching how they play, watching how they move. I think the clay court is a little bit like a dance,” she said.
World No 3 Alcaraz made the semi-finals last year where he was beaten by Novak Djokovic, revealing later that the prospect of facing the world No 1 had caused so much tension that his body cramped up during the match.
Wolf, ranked at 107, has won just one match on the tour in 2024. His only other main draw appearance at the French Open ended in a first-round exit last year.
Wawrinka, the 39-year-old 2015 champion, and 2016 runner-up Murray meet for the 23rd time, a rivalry which has included two semi-final clashes in Paris.
Murray is playing his final season on tour but whether 14-time champion Nadal joins him in retirement later this year remains to be seen.
Nadal, who will be 38 on June 3, said on Saturday he had not committed himself to retiring and wanted to “100 per cent keep the door open”.
He missed the tournament in 2023 with injury and his 2024 appearance may be brief after he was drawn to face fourth-ranked Alexander Zverev on Monday.
“It’s a big, big chance that this is going to be my last Roland Garros, but if I have to tell you it’s 100 per cent my last Roland Garros, sorry, but I will not. I cannot predict what’s going on,” Nadal said.
